Frederick Bedford

File:Memorial to Frederick George Denham Bedord, Greenwich Hospital Chapel.jpg

Memorial to Frederick George Denham Bedord, Greenwich Hospital Chapel

Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO (24 December 1838 – 30 January 1913) was Governor of Western Australia from 24 March 1903 to 22 April 1909.

Naval career

Bedford joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14, and later served in the Crimean War.

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station in 1892: in 1894, Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford was involved in an action against Nana Olomu Chief of Benin. Brohomi was burnt down in 1894 by a combined force of the British Naval Brigade and the Niger Coast Protectorate Force under Sir Frederick Bedford, KCB and the Consul-General Ralph Moor, KCMG. It is believed over 500-600 slaves were freed during the operation. On 22 February 1895, a British naval force, under the command of Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford at the behest of the Royal Niger Company, granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria in 1886, laid siege on Brass, the chief city of the Ljo people of Nembe in Nigeria's Niger Delta.

He was appointed Junior Naval Lord in 1889 and Second Naval Lord in 1895 and commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station in 1899, a post he held until June 1902.

After becoming Governor in 1903, on 4 June 1907 he officiated at the opening of the Royal Fremantle Golf Club in Western Australia, but it was not until March 1909 that the complete 18 hole course was available.

Memorials

A memorial to Admiral Bedford stands in the entrance lobby of the Chapel at Greenwich Hospital.

Family

File:Lady Ethel Bedford by Durrant & Son.JPG

Lady Ethel Bedford by Durrant & Son

He married Ethel Turner, daughter of E. R. Turner, Esq., of Ipswich, in 1880. Lady Bedford accompanied her husband and was mistress of Admiralty House in Halifax, Nova Scotia, until 1902. She took an interest in benevolent work, and frequently performed as a singer at concerts, for charitable purposes.

The couple`s son became Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Edward Frederick Bedford KCB CSI, who married Miss Gladys Mort of Sydney, Australia. While residing at Easthampnett, their son Frederick, named after his grandfather, who had become a Lieutenant in the Fleet Air Arm, was killed in action over St Pauls Bay, Malta on 21 February 1942, aged 22 years, and was buried in Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery.

Legacy in Western Australia

• A suburb - Bedfordale situated 30 km from Perth GPO is named for Governor F.G.D. Bedford and he named several streets for famous Admirals.
• A suburb - Bedford situated 6 km from Perth GPO arose during the Western Australia gold-boom of the 1890s, named in honour of Governor F.G.D. Bedford; the area was called "Bedford Park" following subdivision by the International Investment Land and Building Co. Ltd. of Sydney and Gold Estates of Australia (an English company).
• Cattle Station - Bedford Downs Station, a property in the Kimberley region.
• Mountain- Mount Bedford, also situated in the Kimberley.

Affiliations

• TS Bedford, Australian Navy Cadets - (Former Unit)

External links

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Military offices
Preceded by Sir Charles Hotham	Junior Naval Lord 1889–1892	Succeeded by Lord Walter Kerr
Preceded by Sir Henry Nicholson	Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station 1892–1895	Succeeded by Sir Harry Rawson
Preceded by Lord Walter Kerr	Second Naval Lord 1895–1899	Succeeded by Lord Walter Kerr
Preceded by Sir John Fisher	Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station 1899–1902	Succeeded by Sir Archibald Douglas
Government offices
Preceded by Captain Sir Arthur Lawley	Governor of Western Australia 1903–1909	Succeeded by Sir Gerald Strickland